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Ceremonial Drum with Male Figure Holding Figurative Superstructure Seated on Elephant

19th century, inventoried 1884
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Such elaborately carved drums were integrated in the shrine of the Maloango (King of Loango) as an altar in his residence. On festive occasions they were displayed and used as a visual point of reference for oral traditions related by a priest. The tripartite composition features a figure seated on an elephant at the base supporting an open box-like structure and culminates in a drum at the summit. Esteemed for their size and strength, elephants also figure in regional oral histories as guides that led pioneering founding ancestors through the forest.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ceremonial Drum with Male Figure Holding Figurative Superstructure Seated on Elephant
  • Date: 19th century, inventoried 1884
  • Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Loango Coast; Republic of the Congo; Cabinda, Angola
  • Culture: Kongo peoples
  • Medium: Wood, pigment, hide
  • Dimensions: H. 44 1/2 in. (113.1 cm), W. 8 7/8 in. (23 cm), D. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Musical Instruments
  • Credit Line: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, 1884.109.15
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing